from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form

Etymologies

From Anglo-Norman and Old French odur, odor, odour, from Latin odor. (Wiktionary)

Examples

The gospel is incensed to signify the sweet odour which it communicates to our souls; and the ministers of God, to signify, according to St. Thomas, that God maketh manifest _the odour_ of his knowledge by us in every place: "For we are unto God _the good odour_ of Christ in them who are saved, and in them who perish".

Having breathalysed, with consent, people in my clinic (I am a consultant occupational physician) who smell of alcohol, it is surprising how often an odour translates to someone three or four times over the limit and with untreated alcohol dependence.

In a study published recently in the journal Chemical Senses, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University discovered that sensitivity to rose odour is greater in subjects that are sitting than in those lying down.

And although they were tempted by the most delicious odour from the grain bins, they forced themselves most systematically to inspect the old-time warriors 'pillar-propped kitchen; their stone table and fireplace; the deep window-niches, and the hole in the floor – which in olden times had been opened to pour down boiling pitch on the intruding enemy.